Don't Ever Leave Me
by AssasinZAssasin
Summary: Hope X Lightning One shot! contains Fluff...? Hope reveals his feelings to Lightning but is promptly rejected. He holds on to those feelings...Hoping that one day, Fate would give him a break...


**Authors Notes**

**Well, I hope you enjoy this one shot because I wrote it late at night, while my mom was awake. On a weekday. Dangerous!**

**By the way,**

**This story contains…**

**Minor Sexual content**

**Minor cussing (abusive language)**

**Some fluff**

**So, please Review, reviews are appreciated! Very much ya know! Enjoy reading it!**

**Square Enix owns FF XIII. Wish I owned it tho…**

Don't Ever Leave Me…

'Hope's Perspective'

I shot up from bed, drenched in sweat.

I had one of those dreams again….. It's starting to get scary.

I live with Lightning in New Bodhum.

I don't get it, but I started to have this strange feeling whenever I'm around her. Couple that with these weird dreams I have been having, you have one hell of a problem.

Lightning must have sensed this because the next thing I knew, she opened the door and walked inside.

"_Hope, is something the matter?" _

I couldn't look her in the face. Not after that dream.

She sighed and came over to the bed and sat next to me.

"_Look, Hope. You can tell me anything. I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong."_

Should I tell her? Or not?

I hesitate before answering,

"S-sorry, Light. This is one thing I just can't tell you about."

She looks determined to find out what's wrong. This can only end badly.

"_Hope, even though we're no longer L'cie, you're still my partner. You have to tell me if anything is bothering you."_

I can feel myself breaking.

I eventually give in and broke into tears.

"I just…Love you, Light!" I pause,

"I have been dreaming about you these past few days, about things I'm too embarrassed to talk about! I didn't want to tell you because…I'm afraid. Afraid of….Rejection."

She just looks at me and her face says that she is shocked.

She didn't answer and just walked out of the room.

It was obvious that even though she didn't say anything, she rejected me.

I wept silent tears.

It was a long time before I could fall asleep.

**A month later**

Light and I are friends again.

Gone is the awkwardness that came with that 'Confession.'

I still harbour feelings for her, but I no longer voice it or hint at it.

I want to preserve our friendship. So I pushed those feelings away, albeit temporarily.

_**Until that day that Fate… Decreed that I have suffered enough.**_

It was any usual day; Lightning would go out for weekly grocery shopping.

I volunteered to go but she said she would do it and went out alone. She said it was dangerous for me to go out alone at night.

I'm worried. Recent reports state that rape cases are getting more frequent in New Bodhum.

But this is Lightning we're talking about…She can handle herself.

She went out with only her survival knife. Her gun blade is in her room.

It was late… SHE was late.

I was overcome by worry and set out to find her.

I passed by a dark alley until I heard a muffled sound and a guy saying,

"Man, what a lucky day! A chick comes along alone at night with a measly survival knife for protection. Oh boy, am I going to enjoy this!"

I can tell that it was a rape case going on.

I can't do anything about it…I'm only 16.

I was just about to leave until I spotted something.

It was a survival knife on the floor.

I recognize it….It belongs to…

Light!

That means…

The knife's edge was pointing towards the alley.

"No, no, no!" I say to myself softly.

I took the knife and ran as fast as I could into the alley.

Sure enough, there she was.

She was bound and gagged with duct tape over her mouth.

How did this happen…..?

The guy was holding a stun rod and was chuckling to himself.

He already unzipped his pants and took off her clothes forcefully.

I could see tears in her eyes.

I could feel the blood going to my head. How dare he….

He was getting ready to enter her with his dirty THING until….

"Get your hands off her you mother fucker!" I shouted as I ran towards him, knife in my hand.

He looked surprised and quickly jumped to the side.

Lightning just fainted on the spot.

He dropped his stun rod in a panic and fumbled for his knife.

He took it out in time and we clashed.

I was relentless, but I was only 16… He must have been at least twice my size.

"Oh, ho? Came for your girlfriend, little boy? You better run along before I gut you!" he put an emphasis on GUT YOU.

"Never!" I shout and charge again.

Girlfriend? Hah, I WISH.

I suddenly felt cold hard steel enter my gut.

I lurch backward, clutching my stomach.

"Ha, ha, ha… See what happens when you mess with me, boy?" He laughed maniacally.

This is it… This is my chance.

I run up to him with all I had and stabbed him.

He seemed shocked.

He fell on the floor and dropped his knife.

I walk over to him, clutching my stomach.

"Kid…Why? How can you risk your life for someone else? Is she THAT important to you?"

I decided to tell him. His time was short anyway.

"Lightning, is not my girlfriend or wife or anything of that sort. She is only my friend. I love her, but she rejected me a month ago. I held on to those feelings secretly, although she would never return my feelings. I continued to protect her, time and again. Because I love her. I would die for her… Even if I die a loner…. I will protect her until she finds a man who can take over my role. Her future husband to be exact. Then, I could die happily." I clutch my stomach painfully.

The man just chuckled.

"Heh, you're a good person, kid. I wish I was the same. If I had taken better care of my wife, she would never have left me." He looked at me solemnly.

"Kid, I know this will never mend what happened but….I'm sorry. And please… End it for me."

I nod and walk over to him, knife hovering over his throat.

"Goodbye, I know you were actually a good man on the inside, just messed up in the head."

He smiled and closed his eyes.

"Thank you, Kid. I'll see you in the afterlife where I can hopefully make some amends."

I swiftly thrust the knife into his throat, and he breathed his last.

'Lightning's Perspective'

**At the start of their battle**

_H-hope? He actually came to find me….?_

_The numbness was beginning to set in, and I fell unconscious._

**At the end of their battle**

_When I woke up, the first thing I saw was Hope, with a stab wound in his abdomen._

_I saw that the rapist was on the floor, with a similar wound, except deeper and more fatal._

_The first thing I heard was,_

"Kid…Why? How can you risk your life for someone else? Is she THAT important to you?"

Hope paused before answering,

"Lightning, is not my girlfriend or wife or anything of that sort. She is only my friend. I love her, but she rejected me a month ago. I held on to those feelings secretly, although she would never return my feelings. I continued to protect her, time and again. Because I love her. I would die for her… Even if I die a loner…. I will protect her until she finds a man who can take over my role. Her future husband to be exact. Then, I could die happily." Hope then clutches his stomach in pain.

_I couldn't believe what I was hearing._

_He was willing to go to that extent….for me?_

_I could feel tears making their way to my eyes but before they came, I passed out again._

'Hope's Perspective'

"Damn, this hurts bad…"

I walk over to her naked body, too tired to even look away in embarassment.

I untied her hand and legs and tore off the duct tape delicately.

I pulled her up gingerly and dressed her, undergarments first.

After putting her clothing back on, the pain started becoming almost unbearable.

"D-damn it! I won't leave her here… You said it yourself didn't you Estheim? You would die for her, now may be that time." I quickly picked her up bridal style and slowly walked out of the alley, blood flowing out of my wound freely.

I was halfway home until I collapsed.

"D-damn it….I'm sorry Light… I failed you…"

She stirred a little and woke up.

'Lightning's Perspective'

_Hope carried me all the way here? With a wound that size?_

_I look behind us; a trail of blood can be seen._

_He risked his life….for me._

_When I think about how I treated him the past month, all the cold shoulders, ignoring him and the harsh words I said to him….He didn't deserve it._

_But I snap back to reality and he was lying on his back, staring at me blankly._

_He passed out and I quickly held onto him piggy-back style._

_I ran as fast as I could to the nearest hospital, cursing my legs for being so stiff._

_As I reached the steps of the hospital, I put him down to check his pulse._

_There was none…._

"_Hope? Hope! Please, wake up!" I frantically try to wake him up or even start a pulse….to no avail._

"_Damn it…..H-hope?" I whispered._

_His pulse was still dead._

"_P-please…Hope. Don't…..Don't leave me…." I whispered, tears beginning to flow from my eyes._

_All of a sudden I could feel his pulse, and a shaking hand came up to my face to wipe my tears._

"Please don't cry, Light. Tears don't fit you…." He smiled at me, albeit cringing in pain a little.

_My eyes widened and I hugged him, hard._

"_Don't you ever, ever do this to me again, do you understand?" I say, still sobbing and my hands felt weak._

"Don't worry, Light, I will never leave you. I love you too much… To do that."

_He smiled at me before passing out again._

_I quickly run into the hospital and Hope was rushed into the ICU._

_The doctor came to me, and I feared the worst._

"Ah yes, are you this boy's girlfriend or perhaps wife?" The doctor said with a raised brow.

"If so, Mrs Estheim, would you consider explaining how he got a stab wound that actually punctured his liver?" _How can he sound so sarcastic in such a serious situation?_

_If the situation wasn't so dire, I would have clocked him._

"_I'm not that close to him. (I wish I was though) Either way, cut the crap and give me his…diagnosis." The last part came out as a pained whisper._

_The doctor frowned and showed me the chart._

"Mr Estheim is an odd case. Normally he should be dead by now. Yet, he is still alive. The only thing keeping him alive, amazingly, is his will to live."

_My heart leaped at this._

"He will need immediate surgery and I need consent from…"

"_Cut the crap and start immediately! He is going to die and you want consent? I'll take full responsibility, NOW GO AND SAVE HIM!"_

_The doctor looks stunned and quickly ran back inside._

_I notified Serah, Snow, and Sazh. They would be here in the morning._

_After the surgery, the doctor happily announced that he will live._

_I ran into his room as if my life depended on it (in a way it did) and he was sleeping peacefully._

_He was smiling. It was pretty late so I decided to take the spare bed next to him. The doctor was too scared to complain._

_Before I went to sleep, I think I heard him say,_

"Light, thank you. If it wasn't for you, I would have lost my will to live and just died... Have a good rest."

**The next morning**

_I was already awake by the time Hope woke up._

_He was overjoyed to see me._

_He asked the nurses and the doctor to leave to give us both some private time together._

_He started fidgeting because he was obviously nervous about the impending conversation._

"_Hope, Why? Why did you save me? You should have just left me there, it was very reckless of you to just charge in like that."_

_He winced at that and lied down before answering._

"Simple, because you were in trouble. I would never have forgiven myself if I let that mother fucker rape you."

_I raised my brow at that._

"_Are you sure that is all?" I knew all too well that it wasn't._

_He tensed... I already know how he feels about me, but I want to hear him say it._

_Then he sighed._

"I know, you rejected me about a month ago. But, I still held on to those feelings. Even if you never returned them. I would continue to live for you, even if you never loved me back. I had a reason to live… For you. I would do all I could in my power to make you happy, to make sure harm never came your way. I vowed to do this until you found a man, someone who would take over for me. Because I… Love you. He said in in one breath and looked at me with solemn eyes.

_I couldn't help the tears that welled up in my eyes._

_I hugged him and said,_

"_Then…Promise me…. Promise me you will never leave me."_

_He pulled away and looked at me solemnly._

"Light, I swear, on my love for you, that I will never, ever leave your side."

_At this point, Serah, Snow and Sazh came in and watched us intently. But I couldn't care less. I only cared about what was going to happen next._

_I swallowed hard before saying,_

"_Hope, I'm sorry I rejected you, in truth, I thought it was just a childish crush you had on me. I never realized it ran so deep….I truly wish I had seen it sooner. I dismissed it as a childish crush, but I also felt for you. But I was 7 years your senior… I found it inappropriate. But I see it now, how you felt for me…. I love you too, Hope. Please, don't ever leave me again."_

_With that, I leaned towards him and kissed him._

_Hope looked genuinely surprised but it was quickly replaced by joy._

_The woman he had always loved…. Had finally accepted him._

_As for the others,_

_Serah was overjoyed._

_Snow was cheering them on and Sazh just looked away, but he was smiling._

_Lightning 'Claire' Farron had finally found…Happiness._

**Authors ending notes**

**I loved this story, it came to me around 10 + at night and it took me up till 12 50 am to get it done! **

**I hope you enjoyed reading this, I enjoyed writing it!**

**Reviews are appreciated!**


End file.
